When It's All Over [NejiTen Fanfiction] | ✓

Chapter 4

I have to say that a chapter every week was actually super pressing for me to keep up with, so from now on, I'll just try to post whenever I can. Thanks for reading!

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So of course, the next morning, I returned to the practice site. My bag was full of scrolls and the pouch tightly strapped to my thigh was springing with kunai as well as shuriken, all perfectly sharpened to my personal preference. As it had turned out, I was early by a long shot. I decided to carve a target on the surface of a tree and just do some target practice. Every blade and star I threw cleanly hit their marks with no delay or hesitations.

I aimed, threw, and left deep scars on the bark of trees, leaving splinters on the ground and in my own arms. I quickly lost track of time, and as Neji-kun walked onto the training field, and I nearly hit him square in the face. Luckily, I was able to hold back the kunai so that it had only knicked his left ear.

"First you forget my name, and now you try to remove my ear?"

I was almost sure it was some kind of joke, but he didn't smile or laugh. I glanced around, seeing that Lee and Guy-sensei were nowhere in sight. Had I not been so nervous, I would have apologized at that moment, and when I finally realized that such an opportunity was rare, Guy-sensei approached the field, greeting us in his cheerful attitude.

It was too late.

Lee turned up late, and so we began practicing without him. We were trained in using our weapons with swift movements. I was so easily absorbed in our training, and for the first time in a while, I forgot of my apology to Neji-kun. Entirely. The practice went on and luckily, I was able to make up for my bad first impression.

Hours later, I departed with a heavy pat on the back from my sensei. Lee stayed with Guy-sensei for extra practice, so Neji-kun and I left together.

It was already pretty dark out, and that was no worry to me. I could get home with no problem at all, being the capable Kunoichi I was. However, Neji was a little worried, and I guess that never hurt anybody.

"Hey, Tenten. It's really dark out, are you sure you can get home alright?"

"Well, I should be okay." I guess you could say his worried face was actually kind of cute, and suit him in the strangest way.

"It'd probably be better if I walked you back to your house. After all, it's all the way across town."

I didn't object, I really wanted to spend a little more time with him. If I had remembered the apology, I probably would have said it then and there. But I didn't, and the two of us just walked home in the dead silence. I was so focused on the accomplishments I had made that day, and I guess you could say that this is proof of me getting a big head over nothing special at all.

Of course, we eventually arrived at my humble abode, and he left with a dull "good-bye."

By the time I got to my room and had sorted all of my weapons properly into their scrolls, I realized my forgetful idiocy, and knew he was probably already home by then. So, as I did my usual evening routine of polishing and sharpening, I thought about all of the ways I could have apologized or confessed, and eventually moved on to thinking about what he could have been thinking as we walked.

"I wonder if he's thinking about me now...," I wondered out loud. It was just so frustrating, because I needed to get the apology across if I ever wanted to have a chance, but then again, I was kind of caught up thinking that any chance I had ever had when we were children was already gone or shattered into millions of pieces. I guess I was just in that phase, and yet, nothing really worked out in the end.

The pattern went on for ages, until the awkwardness slowly started to fade away on its own. It was always still there, but it never really bothered either of us if we were ever stuck being alone, which we were surprisingly often. Eventually, it reached a point that it would only become more awkward, as so much time had passed.

When the Chuunin exam began, everything appeared to be a lot better. The real problem was durig the Chuunin exam. Spending so much time together, continually, only seemed to enhance the uncomfortable feelings between us, but we were on a team together, and we couldn't allow such a petty problem between us get in the way of our job. Besides, how was I supposed to tell him then? It was deliberately bringing back an old, barely forgotten problem, and solving it. But, if you leave it there, it only causes more stress and pressure. Being 13 years old, I didn't know which path to follow.

So the "battle" went on as we went on missions together, trained together, and even took vacations together. It was so difficult for me. As stress built up, so did my love and admiration for him. I had practically fallen head over heels for a guy who I thought hated me. When I was about 15, give or take a few months, I pretty much just gave up. On love, of course. I decided that I wouldn't pursue love, or Neji-kun specifically, unless somebody came to me. Having to think about my love life and my.. um.. Neji life, was a bit too complicated for me, and there was no way I could kill two birds with one kunai in this situation.

Some people say that when you face life-or-death situations with somebody, you and that person will become much closer together, but I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. Neji-kun, Lee, Guy-sensei, and I have been through so much together, such as nearly being drowned by Kisame Hoshigaki. Yet somehow, though Lee, Guy-sensei, and I are somewhat close friends, Neji-kun and I never really got any closer, not by a significant amount, anyway.

So for years to come, up until the Fourth Great Shinobi War, our strange relationship held on in a sort of on-off pattern. I never apologized, or confessed, which was a big mistake, as my affection only grew with time. Had I told him earlier, my loss probably wouldn't have hurt as much.